Covenant of Mayors: The Way Forward For The EU’s Flagship Climate Initiative

Covenant of Mayors: The Way Forward For The EU’s Flagship Climate Initiative

By Frédéric Boyer, Head of the Covenant of Mayors Office
Winter 2015

The EU stands at a
crossroads: in order
to reach its climate
and energy targets, it
needs significant efforts from
all its stakeholders – especially
from cities and their citizens. In
the framework of the Covenant
of Mayors, cities have already
proven that they can live up to this
challenge. The recently launched
new Covenant of Mayors
reinforces the commitment of
cities to implement the EU's
climate and energy objectives at
local level.

In 2008, the European
Commission launched the
Covenant of Mayors with the goal
of endorsing and supporting
the actions of local authorities
that contribute to reaching
the European climate and
energy targets. Over 6500 local
authorities, representing one
third of the EU’s population, have
already joined the Covenant
of Mayors and committed to
reducing their CO2 emissions by
28% by 2020, thereby exceeding
the EU’s 2020 own 20% target.

PRIME EXAMPLE OF DEMOCRATIC BOTTOM-UP MOVEMENT
The democratic, bottom-up
approach driving the Covenant of
Mayors makes it an institutional novelty in the European
landscape. A city can only join the
initiative through the approval of
the municipal council. Moreover,
the Covenant of Mayors fosters
collaborative local governance
like no other movement. After
adhering, local authorities
develop – in close cooperation
with all local stakeholders – a
Sustainable Energy Action Plan
(SEAP) that sets a CO2-reduction
target and outlines which
measures will be taken to achieve
it. The SEAP development also
drives innovation within the
city’s governance, as different
departments fully work together,
often for the first time to tackle
the cross-cutting issues of energy
and climate.

Covenant of Mayors signatories
reduce their CO2 emissions
through a variety of actions,
from making buildings more
energy efficient and investing
in sustainable urban transport
to boosting local renewable
energy production. They regularly
report on the progress and
implementation of their SEAP
by using shared methodological
principles. These reports are
verified by the Joint Research
Centre – the in-house science
department of the Commission –
and are then made available on
the Covenant of Mayors website
in order to ensure transparency.

CITIES OF ALL SIZES ARE ENGAGING
The Covenant of Mayors is an
inclusive initiative that enables
cities of all sizes to join and
contribute. One example is the
Italian village of Castelvisconti,
which is home to 333 inhabitants
and is showing extraordinary
dedication to climate action.
Despite limited means,
Castelvisconti is on track to
achieve its ambitious CO2-
emission reduction target of 35%
by 2020, thanks to actions such
as making the village's public
lighting energy efficient or scaling
up photovoltaic production.
Another exemplary case is the
German city of Neumarkt in der
Oberpfalz (39084 inhabitants),
which even aims to decrease its
CO2 emissions by 52% by 2020.
In the framework of its SEAP, the
city is pooling a large amount
of resources to multiply its local
renewable energy production.
As its monitoring report shows,
Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz is
charging full steam ahead on its
way to energy independence
with its commitment to local
renewable energy. These are just
a few of the many dedicated cities
of the Covenant of Mayors that
play a key role in implementing
the EU's climate and energy
targets.

THE NEW COVENANT OF MAYORS: REINFORCING CITIES' COMMITMENTS
On the 15th of October 2015,
signatories endorsed the
objectives and framework
of the Covenant of Mayors
for Climate and Energy. This
new Covenant of Mayors
strengthens and reinvigorates
the contribution of cities to the
EU's 2030 climate and energy
objectives. In the new Covenant
of Mayors, cities commit to
reducing their Greenhouse Gas
Emissions (GHG) by at least 40%
by 2030, by investing in energy
efficiency and renewable energy.
Cities will also place greater
emphasis on providing secure
and affordable energy to their
citizens, thereby reinforcing
social justice. Moreover, cities will
adopt an integrated approach to
climate change mitigation and
adaptation, in order to increase
their territories' resilience.

On the 24th of November 2015,
the Belgian city of Ghent was
the first city to sign the new
Covenant of Mayors. Ghent had
already signed up to the previous
Covenant of Mayors in 2009, and
has now proven that it is willing
to keep its forefront position
in tackling climate change. For
Ghent's mayor Daniël Termont,
this new commitment to reduce
CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030
"puts the city on track to become
carbon neutral by 2050", as he
told Cities Today in a recent
interview. Ghent will increase
its current SEAP budget of EUR
140 million in order to reach
the 2030 target, and will also
boost its efforts in the areas of
housing, mobility, businesses
and renewable energy. To fulfill
its previous Covenant of Mayors
commitment, Ghent implemented
several successful actions, such as
revitalizing the Lederberg Leeft
district or coaching companies on
energy management practices,
an action for which the city was
awarded a Climate Star Award in
2014.

THE COVENANT OF MAYORS GOES GLOBAL
Looking beyond the COP21,
the new initiative is also set to
broaden its geographical scope
and adapt the European success
model of the Covenant of Mayors
to the rest of the world. Thereby,
it will become a global Covenant
of Mayors that will transform
urban governance, climate action
and citizen involvement beyond
European borders.